Grace and Emma join together for this workplace comedy that is not quite what it seems and find a very funny movie with a lot going on. We discuss shifting violence to mythological, colonized others, the role and limits of comedies about working and living in capitalism, as well as some truly wild facts about this film.

Follow Grace on Twitter @grace_machine.

Follow Emma on Twitter @uofwhales.

Follow the show @seasonsmoviepod.

Podcast art by Cecil Smith. Follow him on Instagram at @ cecil_smith_

Email us questions at [email protected]

Our next movie is Man of Iron

Grace and Emma watched a movie two months ago, recorded an episode about it one month ago, and are finally presenting you with the gift of this short episode. Emma likes handsome men, Grace does not like the Stephen King short story “Battleground,” and we really just love Salt of the Earth. Watch this movie or don’t; it’s rough out there.

Follow Grace on Twitter @grace_machine

Follow Emma on Twitter @uofwhales

Follow the show @seasonsmoviepod

Podcast art by Cecil Smith. Follow him on Instagram at @ cecil_smith_

Email us questions at [email protected]

Our next movie is Nine to Five

Emma and Grace watched Andrzej Wajda’s Man of Marble the dehumanizing and humanizing process of filmmaking, the act of depicting labor on screen, and questions of what it means to watch a film that critiques non-capitalist societies. Emma makes a killer point about how abstract art is deployed in this film and Grace goes on a long tangent about Walter Benjamin.

Follow Grace on Twitter @grace_machine Follow Emma on Twitter @uofwhales Follow the show @seasonsmoviepod

Podcast art by Cecil Smith. Follow him on Instagram at @ cecil_smith_

Email us questions at [email protected]

Next movie is Norma Rae

Grace and Emma discuss the film the US Government didn't want you to see, Salt of the Earth!!! They loved this antithesis to How Green Was My Valley and talk about the material conditions of the movie, its honesty and intensity around gender dynamics, and the joy found in community organizing. You can watch this piece of union propaganda on YouTube, so you should just go ahead and do it.

Follow Grace on Twitter @grace_machine
Follow Emma on Twitter @uofwhales
Follow the show @seasonsmoviepod
Podcast art by Cecil Smith. Follow him on Instagram at @ cecil_smith_
Email us questions at [email protected]
Next movie is Man of Marble

Grace and Emma talk about the 1941, John Ford directed classic that reeks of gender. We discuss the movie’s surprisingly absent labor politics, its compassion for working people, and its cruelty towards the disabled. In other news, Emma gets excited about birds and Grace thinks a lot about set design.

Follow Grace on Twitter @grace_machine
Follow Emma on Twitter @uofwhales
Follow the show @seasonsmoviepod
Podcast art by Cecil Smith. Follow him on Instagram at @ cecil_smith_
Email us questions at [email protected]
Next movie is Salt of the Earth

To start off our season about work and labor, we watched the 1936 Charlie Chaplin film, Modern Times. By leaning into artifice and exaggeration, the movie is able to highlight the very real issues of its day (and ours). Grace notices the oppressive authority of sound, Emma notices a certain lack of shoes, and we both display an incomplete knowledge of how cocaine works. Get comfy and settle in for a piece of “communist propaganda” that yearns for the middle-class dream and that we both absolutely adored.

Follow Grace on Twitter @grace_machine
Follow Emma on Twitter @uofwhales
Follow the show @seasonsmoviepod

Podcast art by Cecil Smith. Follow him on Instagram at @ cecil_smith_

Email us questions at [email protected]

Next movie is How Green Was My Valley

It’s a Ghibli finale! In the final episode of this season, Grace and Emma talk the limits of capitalist art, the beauty of horrible things, gender, clothes, and the joy of dreams. It’s Miyasaki’s most sober and self-reflective movie, so prepare for a lot of sad talk about movie production itself. They also rank every Miyazaki movie and introduce the theme for the next season!

Follow Grace on Twitter @grace_machine
Follow Emma on Twitter @uofwhales
Follow the show @seasonsmoviepod
Email us questions at [email protected]

Next Theme is Labor

Next movie is Modern Times

Ponyo is not just a fish movie for babies; it’s also a representation of non-revolutionary utopia, a display of the sudden onset of climate change, and a hella trans fairy tale. Emma talks a lot about a Polish horror musical, and Grace unpacks the movie’s family dynamics. Please, always wear a seatbelt, follow traffic signs, and keep your eyes on the road when you drive.

Follow Grace on Twitter @grace_machine
Follow Emma on Twitter @uofwhales
Follow the show @seasonsmoviepod
Email us questions at [email protected]

In this episode, Grace and Emma return to their podcasting origins to talk about the latest and perhaps the worst Star Wars movie. Instead of watching The Rise of Skywalker, we recommend you: 1) listen to this episode, 2) watch the score-only version of The Last Jedi, and 3) write your Rose Tico fanfic.

Follow Grace on Twitter @grace_machine
Follow Emma on Twitter @uofwhales
Follow the show @seasonsmoviepod
Email us questions at [email protected]

In this episode, Grace and Emma give their shortest summary yet! We spend a lot of time talking about gender, domesticity, labor, and the intersections thereof. What else would you expect?! Emma wants to be a witch, and Grace is a big ol’ romantic.

Follow Grace on Twitter @grace_machine
Follow Emma on Twitter @uofwhales
Follow the show @seasonsmoviepod
Email us questions at [email protected]